My mom and sisters have read all the Left Behind books, I started to read the series, but I have a short attention span when it comes to reading books these days (I have a stack of about 20+ books I've either bought, or have been given as gifts, over the past couple years I haven't even started to read). Anyway, I know how the story ends :REV22:20-21 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

I know I've seen the first movie but can't remember if I saw the second one (must be experiencing a senior moment ).

Haven't seen anything about the 3 spinoffs. Hope to be enlightened by this thread.

MacE

--------------------

MacEAKASteve Ewing

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

"Non sibi sed patriae!"

Reviresco (I grow strong again) Clan MacEwen motto

Audaciter (Audacity)My Ewing Family Motto(descendants of Baron William Ewing of Glasgow, born about 1630)

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." Abraham Lincoln

I have read 11 of the original 12 book series. The 12th book, Glorious Appearing, is now out in hard-back, but being on a budget, I have to wait for the paperback version! I hope it will be out by Christmas.

The other 3 spinoffs are:

Left Behind: The Kids - Though obviously intended for a younger audience, these books are every bit as good as the original series. It retells the story of the adult series through the eyes of four teen-agers who were left behind. So far there are 30-some books in the series. These are smaller, paper-back sized books. There are 4 of these books for each of the adult books, so in a series of 12 books, that means there will eventually be 48 books in the series! Unfortunately I've only read through book 24 in this series but hope to get caught up soon, funds permitting...

Apocalypse Dawn by Mel Odom - This is the first book in a new series that tells the story from a military perspective (ie. all of the main characters in the book are military personnel). I am eagerly awaiting the second book!

End of State by Nessa Hart - This is the first book in a new series that tells the story from a political perspective (ie. all of the main characters are people in or associated with the White House). As with the other series, I am eagerly awaiting the second book!

I am currently on the last book in the series #12 and I know this probably sounds stupid that I have read this whole and think that they are poorly written and that the character development is shallow.

On top of that my view of escatology is in total conflict with Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. why am I reading them then you might ask. I am asking myself the same thing. Something must be compelling me to continue, I know how the story is going to end perhaps I just needed a sense of Closure after the first book

I've also seen both movies but I will not read the spinoffs

Mikel

--------------------

He is no fool who gives up that which he can not keep to gain that which he cannot loose

I don't totally disagree with you on the characters, but I do feel that there are some good moments. I nearly cried when a certain character (whose name I won't mention for those who haven't read it yet) died in book eleven. And I had the same feelings when Bruce died in books 2-3. If they were so poorly written, why did those moments hit so hard?

Just out of curiosity (I'm NOT trying to start a debate or anything ), what are your escatological views? How do they differ from those presented in the books?

HI W (what I will call you until you tell me to do something different since wizardofowls seems a bit unwieldy to me)

At the risk of sounding to harsh I would say the reason at certain points when characters die and we have developed a certain emotional attachment for them (particularly if you've read about them for 10 and 1/2 books) that does not mean that the writing is particularly good. I would attribute that you your imagination doing a great job of compensating for the poor writing.

Like I said, I don't understand myself why I have stuck with this whole series. Everytime I finish a book I ask myself why I go on. This is of course only my personal opinion and God has created us all differently so please don't think I am making any comment on your taste cause I'm not just keepin it real cause that's how I feel.

As far as contemporary Christian authors go I especially like Peretti.

Escatology differences are in the timing of the Rapture/Catching away. I'm not saying it absolutely couldn't happen just before the Great Tribulation, but the more I study the more I become convinced that as much as I would prefer it to be that way the less likely it looks to me. I have a multitude of reasons and if you would like to talk about that I would be happy to start a new thread (keep in mind that my opinions are my own and may in no way reflect those of the Church at large)

I nearly cried when a certain character (whose name I won't mention for those who haven't read it yet) died in book eleven.

Really? nearly? I cried so hard I got a headache! I didn't even start reading the series untill somewhere about the 6th book or so. I went to the library and got all the back copies. I couldn't put any of them down untill I had read all the available books. I do believe that these charachters could have been better developed. and when these characters are given a certain personality type, they should stick to it. This certain person (whose name I won't mention for those who haven't read it yet) became like a family member to me! When I read books the characters become friends of mine (badly written or not) and I can't help but to think of them as my day goes by. Analyzing what they do and why, and what they should have done and what i might have done in the same cituation. My friend tells me it's because i'm empathic but i always thought it was because i was gullible! she tells me neither trait is entirely bad, though. But we learn things from the books we read. So I continue to read the series and I also, await the library copy or the paperback, whichever comes along first.

--------------------

"You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever,But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun.And the colors of the sea blind your eyes with trembling mermaids,And you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses:How his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing,For the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white laced lips.""The tiny purple fishes run laughing through your fingers,And you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter."Tales Of Brave Ulyssesby Eric Clapton and Martin Sharp

Hey, please don't be afraid that I will take offense at something you might write! After all I asked for your opinion, and how Christian would I be if I wanted anything less than honesty from you! I value your opinion and I appreciate it!

As far as the books go, you have to admit, however grudgingly, that the books do occasionally have their moments! I mean, if they were THAT bad, there would have been no reason for you to continue reading in the first place!

Since I started reading Christian fiction, a friend of mine has suggested Peretti to me, but I'm always afraid to try new authors. Books are so expensive to take a chance on somebody new (or I guess I should say new to ME!). How is Peretti? What are his books about? I think the title of the book my friend suggested was This Present Darkness or something like that.

And, if you want to start an escathology thread, I'd be happy to chat with you on that thread, but I have no problem with discussing here, since we seem to be the only ones interested in my topic!

When I read books the characters become friends of mine (badly written or not) and I can't help but to think of them as my day goes by. Analyzing what they do and why, and what they should have done and what i might have done in the same cituation. My friend tells me it's because i'm empathic but i always thought it was because i was gullible! she tells me neither trait is entirely bad, though. But we learn things from the books we read. So I continue to read the series and I also, await the library copy or the paperback, whichever comes along first.

Does that make you an Empath N?

W you wanted to know if the books are so "poorly written" why do I keep reading them? Hee hee I keep asking myself that same question.

I am a very avid reader and I am also a writer. Mainly songs. I would have to say the left behind series is on the verge of my having to put down based on the fiction writing ability of the writer. It is probably the story line that keeps me interested enough to keep reading. I constantly hear poorly written songs on the radio and I ask how in the world is this song getting airplay. Then the next thing I know I find myself singing the hook line. So to answer this question I would say that it has to be the hook or the story itself in this case. A compelling hook often has little to do with the overall crafting of a song and I would have to say in the case of The Left Behind Series it is the same deal

Like I said I read a lot and I really like a great story, but I really really apreciate a well crafted story. (i.e. well developed characters that stay true to their character or if they change their is a reason for it, well develped unpredicable plot, great well crafted story line) Even if an author has all of these elements the story may still not speak to me but I will (hopefully) be able to apreciate the hard work and talent anyway.

I often hear songs on the radio that are very popular that in my opinion are only 90% of the way to what they could have been. The writer obviously was stuck on a line and filled in something trite rather than continuing to work for that perfect phrase or rhyme. In many cases it takes an otherwise great song and cheapens it with a phrase that is either trite or nonsense leaving people thinking that the writer has some alternative meaning or is very artistic. I've written enough songs to recognize someone just taking the easy way out. The bottom line is that it works for the general public and the songs are popular in spite of their deficiencies. The same with the Left Behind Series. Even though I think they are poorly crafted I am still reading them and am obviously hooked until I get closure. If they were written better I would probably be reading the spin offs.

Even without my ringing endorsement they are obviously selling well and have made TIm LaHaye a ton of money. Good for Him

Peretti's book "This Present Darkness" and the sequel "Piercing the Darkness" are very good books. I think he has 6 books out so far 5 of which I have read. (I just realized that he had a 6th )

Actually, Raven, you might like the spin-offs BETTER than the original series! Other than the Kids series, the other two are just BASED on the original series, not written BY the original authors! I thought both were good, you might too! Besides, depending on whether you've bought the hard or soft back copies you've probably already sunk $150 to $200 or more into a series you don't really like anyway - why not take a chance on a couple of new writers??!! If its the premise you like, but not the authors, perhaps you'll like these! They start all of the way back at the beginning of the story with all new characters! Buy one book and if you don't like it, sell it or give it away! What have you got to loose? And if you don't want to spend any more money on them, try the library! I jsut hate to see you give up on it when you might like the new ones.

Thank you for your encouragement W. If I run out of books in my que I will consider them since they are different authors. The money for books is never an issue with me but my time is my most limited comodity. If I could get my time refunded somehow that is what I would take if I didn't like the other series

That was why I was so mad after I watched "Lost in Translation" it wasn't the rental fee it was the waste of my time. I read every night before bed, but I still want my reading time to be as rewarding/productive as possible. When I carve time out of my evening to watch a movie, I definitely want it to be at least good.

I know how you feel! And I am truly sorry that you felt that way about the LB series.

Personally, despite the less-than-perfect writing and not-so-great characters, I have found the books impossible to put down! Maybe its because the writing is a little less deep than some books! Before I returned to Christ two and half years ago, I was a heavy reader of fantasy novels... swords and sorcery and all of that stuff. Now I don't want to read such books any more, but at the time there was a huge void in my life where those other books used to be. I enjoy reading the Bible, and reading non-fiction books is okay, but I was missing the escape of reading fiction... I was at the point where I was getting very frustrated and bored and almost ready to return to the old reading habits when I found the LB series. Maybe it was because I was so starved for some fiction to read. Or maybe it was because when I discovered this series they were already up to book 9 and I was able to read them straight through, non-stop until I got to book 10. I don't know what it was but I'm glad I found them when I did, because they rescued me from a boredom that could have been my religious undoing at such a fragile time in my new life.